April 20, 2015
Hanover Fair (Hannover Messe) took up all 5 weekdays last week. (Many of us remember when it was longer with family days on the weekend.) “Integrated Industry – Join the Network” was its keynote theme. Phrases I heard during the week included:
- Shop floor to top floor.
- Lot size of one.
- Personalization.
- Industry 4.0 (often spelled the German way as Industrie 4.0).
- Internet of Things (IoT). Rarely, but more accurately Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT); see “IIoT is not IoT.”
- OPC UA.
- PROFINET.
- IO-Link.
Some quick facts about the Fair:
- 6,500 exhibitors from over 70 countries.
- Over 220,000 visitors; 70,000 from outside Germany.
- India was the partner country and had 400 exhibitors.
- There was no indication of how much area the fair covered, but the fairgrounds indoor space is huge: 5,300,000 million sq.ft. spread through 27 halls.
The next Hanover Fair will be from 25 to 29 April 2016. The 2016 partner country is the United States!
Next post tomorrow with more about Industry 4.0.
–Carl Henning